Blue skies, sunshine and the perfectly manicured greens of Kingston Heath Golf Course, greeted sponsors and guests at the eighth annual Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer Golf Classic.

In October, a  field of 104 players, comprising 26 sponsored teams and including special guests Geoff ‘Coxy’ Cox, Livinia Nixon, James Tomkins, Glenn Boss and golf pro Kate Dunn whole heartedly threw their support behind the event to raise funds for the health promotion and clinical research activities of Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer.

Following a ceremonial tee-off by Golf Classic Patron Peter Thomson AO, teams hit the golf course whilst Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer Golf Committee Chairman, Des Jackson, hosted a special lunch for non-playing donors, sponsors and guests including Associate Professor Paul McMurrick, Frolich West Chair of Surgery, Mr Peter Carne and special guest speaker Professor Bruce Wolff, our visiting professor from the prestigious Mayo Clinic.  Professor Wolff’s visit highlights the strong ties between the Mayo clinic, the Cabrini Monash University Department of Surgery and the Cabrini Colorectal Fellowship program.

A/Prof McMurrick said “The ongoing support of our donors, sponsors and suppliers is critical to the research and education activities of the Department of Surgery and this lunch provides us with an invaluable opportunity to provide feedback and information about the department and to continue to foster support and interest in our work”.  

After 18 challenging holes of golf, players relaxed and enjoyed dinner, whilst digging deep to raise an additional $26,500 during our fundraising auction. This year’s Golf Classic event is expected to raise in excess of $130,000 making this one of the most successful single-day fundraising events in Melbourne.

Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer Founder and Patron, Emeritus Professor Adrian Polglase who spoke to dinner guests said “It is extremely satisfying that after eight years, the Golf Classic is still so successful and we are still able to raise such a significant amount for Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer research and health promotion campaigns. We must continue to promote the importance of bowel screening and raise awareness of bowel cancer throughout the Australian community such that we are able to reduce the incidence of, and deaths related to bowel cancer in Australia and to ease the burden of colorectal diseases on our patients and the community ”.

The spirit of giving on the day was only matched by the keen competitive spirit of those who played golf with the Proclaim team, led by Jon Broome taking winning team honours and Mercedes-Benz Melbourne coming a very close second. Maurie Duchini of Brent’s Prestige World and Wilma Jonson a member of the Jonson Family team were the winning individuals. 

The Patron and Committee of Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer extend their sincere thanks to all our exceptional sponsors, suppliers and donors, in particular our Platinum Partner, The Art Series Hotels Group. The ongoing success of this wonderful day would not be possible without their support and generosity.

SPONSORS

The Chair and members of the Let’s Beat Bowel Cancer Committee would like to thank our Platinum Partner - The Art Series Hotels - and all of our Gold and Silver sponsors for their generous support of our event.